UPDATE - Israeli army carries out heavy airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; CHANGES DECK

By Ahmed Asmar

ISTANBUL (AA) — The Israeli army on Friday evening carried out a heavy and unprecedented airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb area, claiming to have attacked the main headquarters of Lebanese group Hezbollah.

According to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground, Israeli warplanes launched some 10 airstrikes on the area, which is a Hezbollah stronghold, with a large smoke plume rising over the area.

Shortly after the airstrikes, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters, which he claimed was built underneath civilian buildings.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the Israeli army is verifying whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was inside the targeted area.

Meanwhile, Israeli public broadcaster KAN suggested that Nasrallah may have been inside a tunnel struck by the Israeli jets.

Lebanon's official news agency NNA reported extensive damage in the Harat Hreik area of southern Beirut, with several buildings collapsing and thick clouds of smoke rising from the area.

In response to the attack, the Lebanese Red Cross announced on X that they had deployed 10 teams to the scene.

Channel 12 also reported that Israel informed the US of the imminent strike just minutes before its execution.

Newspaper Israel Hayom reported that the country was now on high alert, anticipating potential heavy rocket fire from Lebanon following the bombardment.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, another Israeli daily, the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly left a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

The departure followed a briefing from his military secretary about the airstrikes in Beirut, according to the newspaper.

For his part, Lebanese Premier Najib Mikati said information indicated “a large number of victims” in the attack.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The ministry also said that the death toll in Lebanon since last October is 1,540, in addition to more than 77,000 displaced from southern and eastern parts of the country.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of turning the Gaza conflict into a regional war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar